Sacoridia
Sacoridia is the main country in the Green Rider series of books. It is governed by King Zachary. There are twelve provinces in Sacoridia-- Wayman, Adolind, Mirwell, L'Petrie, Penburn, Oldbury, D'Ivary, Hillander, D'Yer, and east of the Wingsong Mountains lie Arey, Bairdly, and Coutre. The country itself has many clans and noble families, and each province has one governing family which the province is named after. These lords and ladies,or Steward-Governors in some cases, make up a council in case one is needed to make decisions in regards to the country. The High King, or Queen, is the one ruling monarch at any given time; the current ruling clan family is the Hillanders. Geography and Climate Sacoridia is bordered by the country of Rhovanny to the west, the Ullem Bay in the south, the Eastern Sea to the east, and directly to the north lies the much colder northlands and mysterious Elt Wood. The west is dominated by fingers of the Wanda Plains and small Teligmar Hills in the far northwest. The Green Cloak is a vast softwood forest, mostly composed of White Pine, fir and spruce, with some birch and maple, that covers most of central Sacoridia, from the northern bordlerlands to Ullem Bay, and as east as the Wingsong Mountains. East of the Ullem Bay lies a forested peninsula that was once home to Argenthyne, and now contains the whole of Blackveil Forest. On land, that magic D'Yer Wall stretches hundreds of miles to divide this peninsula from Sacoridia. Its magic also continues around the coast of the peninsula, preventing the evil contained within from escaping across the water. Sacoridian rule extends to some island archipelagoes in the Ullem Bay, notably the Night Islands, where the G'ladheon clan originates from. It also encompasses the Northern Archipelago, a group of islands northeast of Coutre Province. Some rivers are named, such as the Terrygood that winds through North, but the biggest by far is the Grandgent, flowing from the north of Adolind down through Penburn and L'Petrie south to the coast. It is big and deep enough to support loads of cargo sailing north to Adolind, and for timber to be floated with ease southward. Because Sacoridia is the frame of reference for the series, it is impossible to give an absolute location. It does appear to be located quite far to the north, because the northern lights are visible even in southern Sacoridia. (The aurora is generally visible between ten and twenty degrees of latitude from the planet's poles.) The continent that Sacoridia is located upon is not named. Animal life includes ungulates such as white-tailed deer and moose; canids including wolves, foxes and coyotes; lynx, cougars and bobcats; various waterfowl, grouse and songbirds; black and brown bears; hawks, ravens, crows and intelligent grey eagles; and small mammals such as hares, red squirrels, and rodents. There is also a feral horse population in Western Sacoridia and the Wanda Plains. Many Sacoridian animals migrate or hibernate to survive the harsh winter. Commerce Sacoridia is a premier mercantile nation; trade goes to the northlands, to Rhovanny, the Cloud Islands in the tropics, and the presumed drier desert type climate of the Under Kingdoms southward. Many lesser clans throughout Sacoridia seem to be master crafters and artisans-- ex. Rider Tegan Oldbrine is from a clan of master dyers. There is a vast merchant's guild, and many merchants travel the land selling their wares come springtime; others still go overseas. This is spearheaded by Stevic G'ladheon, who trades mostly in textiles to Rhovanny, invests heavily in diverse shipping companies, trades ice to the Cloud Islands, and buys many dyes for those textiles from places like Biiordi in Huradesh. As Sacoridia's soil is rather sandy, it is only conductive to ciders and fruit wines, like blueberry. Grapes are hard to grow, so grape wine, notably the famed Rhovan White, is rare and must be imported from, Rhovanny, known for its fertile lake country. Sacor City, as well as larger cities like Selium and Corsa, are home to many districts for things such as shopping, bars, artisans, from printers and jewelers to cafes and clothing and chocolate-makers like Master Gruntler. Selium itself is the academic capital of the region, with a vast university holding most of Sacoridias knowledge. Most students are the offspring of nobility and such, but some, as Estral states, are those with rare talent that the Golden Guardian travels to hand-pick and bring with him for schooling. There are presumably many students from neighboring countries as well-- one such is Karigan's schoolmate Urath, a boy from the Under Kingdoms. Provinces * Hillander * L'Petrie * Coutre * Mirwell * Arey * Adolind * D'Ivary * Penburn * Bairdly * Wayman * Oldbury * D'Yer Technology Sacoridia is advanced in some regards, particularly with regard to books - they posses the movable-type printing press and wood-pulp paper manufacturing, and books are relatively common. They also appear to have the ability to produce clockwork, indicating an understanding of gearing and springs. Although their technology has in general been steadily improving since the Long War, there are some areas where they appear to have declined somewhat; for example, Alton D'Yer has stated that his clan's prowess with stonework is not so great as it once was. This may be due to the decline of magic. Sacoridians have not learned to manufacture gunpowder. Invaders from the Arcosian Empire, who did have this knowledge, were not able to find any source of saltpetre in Sacoridia. Saltpetre is normally found as white deposits on stone or rocky surfaces in damp, poorly ventilated environments. Sacoridian travel is primarily by foot or beast of burden, as they do not have knowledge of the steam engine. Culture and the Arts The center of arts and learning in Sacoridia is Selium, a university and same-named city that surrounds it. Selium has a tradition of producing fine minstrels, who wander freely and are welcomed throughout Sacoridia. Selium is governed by the Golden Guardian. Theatre is enjoyed in populated centers, such as Sacor City. Theatrical actors belong to companies, and wear elaborate costumes on stage. Literature is another source of entertainment. There are novels, such as the adventures of Gyllan Willowland, and collections of poetry such as.... It also appears that scholarly research is published in the form of books, such as Lord Eldred Faintly's material on ghosts. Category:Locations